1. Field
The described embodiments relate to techniques for forming network connections in an electronic device. More specifically, the described embodiments relate to a technique for using a property of a received signal to determine a device for forming a network connection.
2. Related Art
Electronic devices are ubiquitous in modern life. For example, many people have laptop computers, smart phones, tablet computers, and/or other types of electronic devices they use for checking email, keeping track of friends in social networks, handling business transactions, making phone calls, and performing numerous other tasks. Many of these electronic devices include mechanisms for forming wired or wireless network connections with other devices to enable the electronic device to exchange data with the other devices. For example, these devices can include mechanisms for forming Bluetooth™ network connections (Bluetooth is a trademark of the Bluetooth SIG, Kirkland, Wash.), WiFi peer-to-peer network connections, wired/wireless personal-area-network (PAN) connections, and/or other wired or wireless network connections.
Generally, the formation of network connections between devices involves a number of well-defined operations. For example, to form a Bluetooth™ network connection, a device (device A) first makes an inquiry on an inquiry scan channel to determine if other devices are available for forming a Bluetooth™ network connection (i.e., an ad-hoc Bluetooth™ piconet). This operation involves device A using a radio interface to hop to each frequency in a predetermined set of frequencies. At each frequency, device A sends an inquiry and briefly awaits a response from any available devices before hopping to a next frequency. If a response is received from another device (device B), the response includes an identifier for the device (e.g., a device name and/or MAC address for device B). Device A can then use the received device identifier to perform a page scan in a separate page scan channel to obtain clock and channel hop sequence information that is used to facilitate subsequent communication with device B. Device A then uses the information obtained during the page scan to form a physical (wireless) link with device B.
In some cases, an electronic device that is attempting to form a network connection with another device can encounter numerous devices that are each available for forming network connections (e.g., multiple devices that respond to inquiry scans in a Bluetooth™ system). A user of the electronic device can then be forced to determine a device or devices from among the multiple available devices for forming the network connection. The decision can be confusing and frustrating in a location where the device(s) with which the user intends to form the network connection are not clear (e.g., from device identifications, etc.) or for devices, such as wireless headphones, where the user has little control over the formation of network connections.